S U M M E R 2 0 2 2 L E H I GH B U L L E T I N ‘Extended EXPANDS Reality’ LEARNING AT Lehigh
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S UMM E R 2 0 2 2 | 1 COMMENCEMENT 2022 Lehigh’s 154th Commencement took place under sunny skies, with about 1,500 students receiving undergraduate, master’s or doctoral degrees at two separate ceremonies. Clockwise from top left: Mace bearer Kashi Johnson leads Lehigh President Joseph J. Helble ’82, Commencement Speaker Judy Marks ’84 ’13P and other Lehigh dignitaries into Goodman Stadium for the graduate Commencement ceremony and doctoral hooding on May 22; students at Lehigh’s undergraduate Commencement ceremony May 23; Salma Elboute, Zaria Beckley, Sabrina Noel Jeune and Taylor Barrett ’22; triplets Kevin, Katie and Shaun McNulty ’22; Devon Carter ’22 Ph.D.; and Marks, the chair, CEO and president of Otis Worldwide Corporation. PHOTOS BY CHRISTA NEU
U P F R O N T STAFF Celebrating Milestones I was at Goodman Stadium in mid-May when Lehigh’s newest alumni—members of the Class of 2022—were celebrated at Lehigh’s 154th Commencement. It’s always a visually exciting event, with graduates, professors and administrators in full regalia, representing a diversity of disciplines as well as signaling the diverse life paths ahead for the graduates. I was on campus a few weeks later too, when Lehigh welcomed back an unprecedented number of classes to celebrate their milestone reunions. With the pandemic disrupting gatherings in 2020 and 2021, Reunion Weekend 2022 saw 42 classes returning to campus in June. It’s typically an equally exciting time, but this year was even more special, with so many more classes of alumni joining in a parade, touring campus, enjoying music and meals, and simply reminiscing. Some alumni couples renewed vows in Packer Memorial Church. At both events, I refected on what Commencement speaker Judy Marks ’84 ’13P, the chair, CEO and president of Otis Worldwide Corporation, had told the new graduates: That she was certain, given the focused education they had received in their chosen felds of study, that they will continue to transform themselves, and in the process, transform society in the decades ahead. She shared the lessons she had learned since her own graduation from Lehigh: Become a lifelong learner; admit what you don’t know; be agile and solve unanticipated problems; be collaborative; know that impatience can be healthy, if recognized and mastered; trust your instincts; take risks; be accountable. Through all life’s ups and downs, what lessons had the alumni gathering for Reunion learned along the way? Through all the challenges we face as a society, what transformations, if any, had they experienced? This issue of the Bulletin highlights the journeys of several alumni who are striving to make a diference. Krystal Ka‘ai ’10 is leading the White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacifc Islanders, and in that role, seeks to address the rise in anti-Asian hate crimes (pg. 28). Richard Gordon IV ’07G, Harrison Bailey III ’99G and other graduates of Lehigh’s Educational Leadership program are helping to transform C H R I S T A N E U SCAN TO WATCH A VIDEO OF COMMENCEMENT FESTIVITIES students’ lives in their roles as principals and administrators (page 18). Cristina Arteta ’98 helped establish the Global Union while at Lehigh then continued eforts to build more inclusive and equitable spaces in her native Ecuador (pg. 35). We hope you enjoy these alumni stories, and if you attended Reunion 2022, that you’ll fnd yourself in our many photographs (pg. 22). Refecting on Marks’ Commencement address, what additional lessons might you have for Lehigh’s newest graduates? Sincerely, Mary Ellen Alu, Editor What lessons do you have for Lehigh’s newest graduates? Share your thoughts by sending a letter to the editor. It can be sent via snail mail to the address at right, or via email to maa614@lehigh.edu. 2 | L E H I G H B U L L E T I N EDITOR Mary Ellen Alu ASSOCIATE EDITOR Stephen Gross STAFF WRITER Christina Tatu CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Kara Bonner ’22, Alyssa Caroselli ’24, Kelly Hochbein, Justin Lafeur, Janet Norwood, Cynthia Tintorri CREATIVE DIRECTOR Kurt Hansen ART DIRECTOR Beth Murphy SENIOR DESIGNERS Kate Cassidy, Neha Kavan PHOTOGRAPHY Christa Neu VIDEOGRAPHER Stephanie Veto BUSINESS SUPPORT Traci Mindler CLASS NOTES AND REMEMBRANCES (610) 758-3675 classnotes@lehigh.edu CHANGE OF ADDRESS Email address changes to askrecords@lehigh.edu or send the mailing label, along with your new address, to Alumni Records/Lehigh University 306 South New St. – Suite 500 Bethlehem, PA 18015 (866) 517-1552 CONTACT US Lehigh University Communications and Public Affairs 301 Broadway, 4th foor – Suite 400 Bethlehem, PA 18015 (610) 758-4487 Email: communications@lehigh.edu LEHIGH ALUMNI BULLETIN Vol. 107, No. 2, Summer 2022 Published three times a year by the Lehigh University Communications and Public Affairs Offce, in cooperation with the Lehigh University Alumni Association Inc. alumni.lehigh.edu SCAN TO VIEW THE ONLINE EDITION OF THE SUMMER 2022 BULLETIN
U P F R O N T Students arrive at Liberty High School, where Harrison Bailey III ’99G is principal. 18Leading in a Diverse Society Lehigh’s College of Education focuses on innovative teaching, experiential learning and interdisciplinarity. Its graduates have won accolades for their school leadership. By Stephen Gross 22Reunion 2022: Together Again For the frst time in three years, alumni from an unprecedented number of classes return to campus to celebrate their reunions. By Editorial staf 28Advancing Equity & Justice Krystal Ka‘ai ’10 leads the White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacifc Islanders. By Christina Tatu 30‘Extended Reality’ Expands Learning at Lehigh More faculty are supplementing their lesson plans with ‘extended reality,’ or XR learning, which includes virtual and augmented reality. By Christina Tatu DEPARTMENTS 2 FROM THE EDITOR 4 CORRESPONDENCE 5 FROM THE PRESIDENT ON CAMPUS 6 The Trees of Lehigh 7 Ochs Named Director of Marcon Institute 8 Scholarship Recognizes 50 Years of Coeducation 9 Athletics Complex to Be Renovated, Expanded 10 Red Dresses, for a Cause RESEARCH 11 Developing Next-Generation Metallic Alloys 12 Developing Bio-Inspired Underwater Vehicles 13 SCHEMATIC: Saving Chimney Swifts CULTURE 14 An Archive Brought to Life ATHLETICS 15 Shifting Gears 16 PROFILE: Maddie Kahn ’23 NOTES 35 ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: Cristina Arteta ’98 38 FROM THE OUTGOING PRESIDENT OF LUAA 39 LEHIGH DISPATCH 64 IN REMEMBRANCE OBITS 65 Andy Coen 71 Gary Sasso END PAPER 72 INTERDISCIPLINARY Art + Engineering ON THE COVER: Artist Sal Cotti illustrates the educational value of “extended reality” learning. C H R I S T A N E U S UMM E R 2 0 2 2 | 3
U P F R O N T CORRESPONDENCE Aurie Dunlap REMEMBERING PROFESSOR AURIE DUNLAP Thank you for asking about memorable professors. There were several, and this is an appropriate time to remember one. I have never forgotten Professor Aurie Dunlap, during the very early days of the Korean War, which started in 1950. (During the fall of 1950, after the football team was having a great season, at least two left college for Korea, and would not return.*) Prof. Dunlap referred to the writings of Hitler and Stalin, as well asMao, to predict the VietnamWar. As I recall, he was in close contact with the State Department, and his message was that dictators will often display their intentions early. The Vietnam confict may have smoldered, but did not erupt until Eisenhower had left ofce, but it did occur as Mr. Dunlap predicted. *Gus LaSasso died in combat; Walt Pullar enlisted promptly at season’s end, retiring a career marine. On another note, the recent item regarding solar panels on the Goodman Campus leads me to wonder if a thorough study—covering all start-to-fnish factors—has been done to compare the beneft of installing a solar panel and storage facility vs. the environmental beneft lost by removal of the trees that those panels displace?? Most environmental studies seem uninterested in including the environmental impacts of panel and battery manufacture, and site access, vs. the less impactful life of a forest, whose contribution to CO2 removal is unafected by cloudy days. Trees are even able to recreate without consuming measurable energy!! Grant Hansel ’53 REMEMBERING PROFESSOR JAMES STURM I was saddened to see the news about Dr. [James] Sturm. [In Memoriam, Spring 2022] He was a bright spot in the otherwise difcult course of Physical Chemistry that was required for all Chem E [chemical engineering] majors. It was a two-seminar course with the second part in the beginning of junior year. I remember clearly that it was the frst class of the year starting at 7:45 a.m., which was before most 19-year-olds would be functional in the early ’70s. And at 7:45 a.m. Dr. [Roland] Lovejoy proceeded to pick up where he left of in the spring and flled four chalkboards with notes. Tough start to the year. However, the lab section classes with Dr. Sturmwere always enjoyable and informative, and always a joke (chemistry based, of course) or a clever play on words. As a Chem E, I had two electives in the four years and one was Films. I wrote, directed and flmed what Prof. [George] McDonald called a modern Pop Art Science Fiction flm–“Return of the Son of MonsterMagnet” (with apologies to Frank Zappa and AndyWarhol). Dr. Sturm agreed to the starring role as the mad scientist Dr. Zanzibar along with the Fritz Lab Testing Machine as The Monster Magnet. Dr. Sturm showed up with all his lines and actions memorized, and we never needed a second take. And he kept a straight face while acting alongside 19- [and] 20-year-old students. Not easy as the SuperHeroes in the flmwere saving the day between takes by running around the campus in costumes, and of course it was prospective student day. Interesting reactions from the students and parents! Dr. Sturm was a great prof at Lehigh and fun to be around as we learned a lot of chemistry. Lehigh has lost a great asset. DanMiller ’74 THE LEHIGH SEAL The Fall issue of the Lehigh alumni Bulletin ended with a piece on four objects which represent the traditions and ideals of Lehigh. I would like to correct a serious, but all too common, omission in this article. Most alumni have no idea that Lehigh was founded with the help of the Protestant Episcopal Church, the denomination which Asa Packer was so dedicated to. He was close friends with Bishop William Bacon Stevens, a true scholar and man of God, who helped Packer design and organize what would become Lehigh University. As a result of this afliation, they were very strategic in creating a university that would develop the moral and, as well as, intellectual fber of her students. … In light of this, I was concerned, but not surprised, to see the seal of the university described as “a sun over a book on which a heart is superimposed.” This description provides no indication of the actual meaning of the seal, which is immensely profound. The seal is a depiction of the Holy Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, as described in the minutes of the Board of Trustees in the fall of 1865: “The seal of the Lehigh University is of an oval form. In the upper part a Sun on which is inscribed the word Lux (Light); below is an open Bible on which is written Veritas (Truth); on the Bible lies a heart bearing the inscriptionAmor (Love); thus bringing in the three Persons of the Godhead, the Ever Blessed trinity; the God of Love, Christ as the Light of the world, and the Holy Spirit as the inspiration of the Word and the Spirit of Truth. At the same time, these emblems indicate the love to God and man that will characterize this noble endowment; the Truth of Religion which the University will seek to diffuse and the Light of Science andPhilosophywhichwill illuminate the mind with true and celestial wisdom. ….” History is our friend and we would do well to present it accurately, even if it may not ft our current narrative. Lehigh’s founders were always open to those who do not share these beliefs, but wanted the university to have more than a mere pursuit of knowledge as her foundation. Rich Earl ’80 4 | L E H I G H B U L L E T I N
U P F R O N T C H R I S T A N E U President Joseph J. Helble ’82 poses with his graduating class, celebrating their 40th, during Reunion 2022. Celebrating Community I had the honor of delivering remarks to the Class of 2022 at Lehigh’s 154th Commencement, my frst as Lehigh’s president. I spoke about the sense of community that was central to my experience as a Lehigh student, and that I believe still defnes Lehigh today. Along with the graduates’ individual accomplishments, we hadmuch to celebrate as the academic year came to a close—new initiatives, innovative faculty and student research, a growth in collaborative programs and more. Most notably, we opened the Health, Science and Technology Building, an important interdisciplinary research space that is home to our rapidly growing College of Health. Our resilience, engagement and adaptability as a community were critical to our successes. This summer, the pace continues, with graduate student research and interdisciplinary deep-dive Mountaintop projects in full swing. And, after two summers with no travel, students are again engaged in Lehigh’s global programs, as they conduct research and feld study in 21 diferent countries on four continents. Work also continues on the new College of Business building, which will have collaborative and high-tech spaces for learning, teaching and research, and on design planning for the long-awaited renovation of the Clayton University Center. Additionally, we are set to embark on Lehigh’s frst comprehensive strategic planning process since 2009. Preparations began earlier this year with a review of the progress made toward goals set in the original 2009 strategic plan. In the fall, we formally commence the proSCAN TO WATCH cess. This will allow us to furPRESIDENT HELBLE’S ther develop our plans for inMONTHLY MESSAGES terdisciplinary education at both undergraduate and graduate levels, identify steps needed to drive our already-outstanding outcomes measures to greater heights, and ask how we can best and more fully utilize our geographic and physical assets. We also will consider what it means to be a global research university of our size as well as a community that welcomes and respects every student and member of our community. As we chart our course, I look forward to working with our new Chair of the Board of Trustees, Vincent Forlenza ’75. Vince is a passionate supporter of Lehigh’s academic and research mission, and his strategic insight helped shape the creation of our College of Health. I am very thankful for the past leadership of former Board Chair Kevin Clayton ’84 ’13P, whose term ended June 30. Kevin provided strong leadership throughout the pandemic, and his tenure was marked by many notable advancements, including the construction of new residential and academic facilities, the launch of the College of Health and the diversifcation of the student populations and faculty. I enjoyed seeing so many of you at Reunion 2022, as an unprecedented 42 classes came together to celebrate. I hope to see you again this fall onmy regional tour, as I talk with alumni about strategic planning and the future of LehighUniversity. Sincerely, Joseph J. Helble ’82, President S UMM E R 2 0 2 2 | 5
C A M P U S ON CAMPU S N E W S F R O M L E H I G H C H R I S T A N E U The Trees of Lehigh Students catalog trees on the Asa Packer Campus and help Lehigh earn certifcation CATALOGING Ajah Quawiy ’23 and Matt Giovestis ’25 prepare to measure a diffcult tree with a circumference tape measure. Tree diameter must be measured at breast height to accurately collect data. Setting out in groups of two, Ajah Quawiy ’23, Matt Giovestis ’25, Christie Ortega ’23 and Gabriela Birardi ’23 explored a portion of Lehigh’s Asa Packer Campus last fall equipped with a specialized tape for measuring the diameter of trees, an iPad for recording data on spreadsheets and books to assist with tree identifcation. The students alternated three-hour shifts twice per week, depending on the weather. Their mission? To catalog the trees to help Lehigh earn a Tree Campus USA certifcation from the Arbor Day Foundation. The students cataloged more than 500 trees and more than 50 diferent species, including honey locust, umbrella magnolia, red maple and black oak. A campus white oak, which has been growing on campus prior to Lehigh purchasing the university’s oldest building, Christmas-SauconHall, dates back nearly 300 years. With the help of the students’ work, Lehigh earned the recognition in April. The university became one of 411 campuses in the country to achieve the distinction by meeting fve standards: a tree advisory committee, a campus tree-care plan, dedicated annual expenditures for its campus tree program, an Arbor Day observance and student service-learning project. A campus tree inventory had been in the works earlier at Lehigh, but was put on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic. The plan was to collect data that included the species of trees, their diameter at breast height and location, and to generate a map of the trees on campus. That baseline datawould allowLehigh to remeasure the trees again in a few years and estimate the amount of carbon each tree sequesters. With the Ofce of Sustainability applying for the Tree Campus USA certifcation, the push to complete the inventory was revived. Ecologist Robert Booth, professor of earth and environmental sciences, trained the students to use the circumference tape and aided them in tree identifcation. Booth also accompanied the students on some of their campus expeditions as they col6 | L E H I G H B U L L E T I N
C A M P U S lected data to calculate each tree’s biomass. Instead of cataloging every tree at Lehigh, and because there is already data available onmany of the trees on South Mountain from Booth’s ecology course, the team focused on the Asa Packer campus. They also picked an area that was representative of the tree diversity across campus so the data could be extrapolated, according to Booth. “It gave me the chance to appreciate nature and Lehigh’s Campus from a new perspective,” Quawiy said. “Measuring trees for three hours might sound boring at frst, but it was actually very relaxing.” In the spring, students worked with Ben Felzer, associate professor of environmental sciences, who introduced them to allometric equations, which can estimate the amount of carbon in the trees. The students also built an interactive webmap with their data that can be used for a virtual campus tree tour. In addition, the students hosted an in-person tree tour on Arbor Day, showcasing some of the trees they cataloged and demonstrating how they measured the trees. John Schleder, an arborist with BrightView Landscape, provided additional information on the trees, and the group planted a Princeton American elm tree on the Clayton University Center lawn. —Stephen Gross C H R I S T A N E U SCAN TO VIEW LEHIGH’S VIRTUAL TREE TOUR Ochs Named Director of Marcon Institute The institute is dedicated to research on social justice issues Holona Ochs, associate professor of political science, has been named director of Lehigh’s new Marcon Institute, which is dedicated to research and study that infuences perspectives, practices and policies on racial justice. The institute was established with a $2.5 million gift from Lehigh Valley philanthropist Charles Marcon. In this new role, Ochs will establish a program of study and engagement in community issues surrounding race and equity. “Central to Lehigh’s mission is to develop the leaders of tomorrow,” said Lehigh Provost Nathan Urban. “Under Holona’s leadership, the Marcon Institute will ensure that Lehigh students are prepared as leaders who think critically about the problems of racism and inequality, and work with and within their communities to effect meaningful change.” The Institute’s objectives are twofold: to foster student research that promotes research and progress toward racial and social justice, and to create programming with educational value to students and the Lehigh Valley community. Ochs, who called the institute “an investment in an “WE SHOULD REALLY BE antiracist future,” has a vision THINKING ABOUT WHAT WE for the institute that is rooted in the ideas of American writer CAN DO AS AN INSTITUTION and social activist bell hooks, with organizing principles of OF HIGHER EDUCATION love and community. “We should really be think- TO MAKE BENEVOLENCE ing about what we can do as an institution of higher education MORE OF A REALITY.” to make benevolence more of —HOLONA OCHS a reality, or more believable to people at least,” she said. Donald Outing, vice president for equity and community, said Ochs is “a proven leader who is not afraid to engage in the difcult conversations associated with doing the antiracist work critical to creating lasting change.” Ochs will spend the next several months meeting with individuals across Lehigh’s campus to discuss ideas for the institute, formalize collaborations and determine what students can do to contribute to anti-racism in constructive ways. “I want to make sure that everything that the Marcon Institute does uplifts all of the antiracist work that people on campus have already been doing,” she said. Ochs earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in clinical marriage and family therapy from Kansas State University. She then worked for several years as a therapist specializing in trauma-related disorders. She went on to earn both a doctorate and master’s degree in political science from the University of Kansas.—Kelly Hochbein S UMM E R 2 0 2 2 | 7
C A M P U S Scholarship Recognizes 50 Years of Coeducation Fifty years ago, Lehigh welcomed its frst class of undergraduate students that included women. Now, in honor of the milestone anniversary of Lehigh coeducation, four foundational donors have come forward to launch the Soaring Together Scholarship Program, which will provide recipients with an unprecedented level of support while advancing gender equity. The program, which bears the name of the university’s celebration of coeducation, ofers full-tuition merit scholarships as well as experiential learning opportunities, career and professional development, and alumni support and networking to impact students academically and throughout their careers. The program was launched with four foundational gifts totaling nearly $3.5 million from Mark Alpert ’70; Board of Trustees Vice ChairMariaChrin ’87 ’10P and John Chrin ’85 ’86 ’10P; Trustee Ann Lewnes ’83 ’22P and Greg Welch ’22P; and JohnStaub ’86. These gifts will allow the university to initially ofer six scholarships, with the aim of eventually building a cohort of 12-15 recipients per academic year. With the university's vision to ofer D O U G L A S B E N E D I C T / A C A D E M I C I M A G E 50 of these scholarships through philanthropy, the Soaring Together Scholarship Program will become the largest andmost comprehensive of its type at Lehigh. “We are grateful to these donors for being among the frst to fund this important scholarship program in honor of this milestone,” said Lehigh President Joseph J. Helble ’82. “Our goal with any scholarship is to openLehigh’s doors to talented students. This programis broad in both scope and impact. It’s designed to support new learning experiences and inspire relationships that will strengthen our alumni network, and help us continue to advance gender equity.” The scholarships will be awarded to a select number of incoming Lehigh students who excel academically and demonstrate an interest in and commitment to advancing gender equality. All applicants to Lehigh are eligible to apply for the scholarship, beginning with the Class of 2027. “The Soaring Together Scholarship Program is exciting tome because, not only does it allow us to honor the many signifcant and sustained accomplishments of women at Lehigh, it will also serve to attract and reward the next generations of those who seek to advance gender equity at Lehigh and, in so doing, to advance Lehigh broadly,” said DanWarner, vice provost for admissions and fnancial aid. “I’mthrilled about a scholarshipprogramthat celebrates the impact and contributions of Lehigh women—past, present, and future,” saidMaria Chrin. “As barriers, like the gender gap, continue to be broken, Lehigh as an institution and as a community will become even stronger. I have great expectations for the next 50 years of women at Lehigh.” KEYSIGHT LAB A new Keysight Technologies Lab in Packard Lab is a testing ground that will allow students the kind of experiential learning that will help distinguish them as young professionals entering the fields of electrical engineering and computer engineering. The lab was dedicated on March 31. The spacewasmade possible by a gift from Keysight Technologies Inc., a global provider of electronics test andmeasurement solutions based inCalifornia. RonNersesian ’82, above left, is the company’s executive chairman and former chief executive officer. He received his bachelor’s degree fromLehigh in electrical engineering. “Lehigh engineering students are widely regarded as among the most innovative and industrious in the world,” said Nersesian. “We’re very glad to provide this support to Lehigh’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering [ECE].” With the lab at their disposal, he said, students will graduate and be ready to contribute on the job on day one. Chengshan Xiao, the ECE department chair, said the new testing and measurement equipment will allow students to perform state-of-the-art industry-ready experiments, innovative senior design projects and more. He said faculty have already designed new and advanced courses to fully utilize the equipment such as vector signal generators, signal analyzers and multi-channel oscilloscopes. 8 | L E H I G H B U L L E T I N
C A M P U S A rendering depicting the renovated Cundey Varsity House Athletics Complex to be Renovated, Expanded An ambitious renovation and expansion of the Goodman Campus Athletics Complex has now been launched, thanks to an anonymous $8 million gift made by parents of a current Lehigh student-athlete. The gift will provide for the renovation and expansion of the Cundey Varsity House, and also allow Lehigh to move forward with design planning for a new indoor feld facility on Goodman Drive South, directly behind the varsity house. Cundey Varsity House improvements include an expanded sports medicine facility, a new and signifcantly expanded strength training area, a high-tech pitching and hitting facility, a student-athlete nutrition lounge and new or improved locker room facilities for all Lehigh sports programs based on the Goodman Campus. The planned new indoor feld facility will house a roughly 94,000-square-foot turf feld and accommodate full-scale training for Lehigh feld sports year round. Together, these two projects will transform the Lehigh Athletics experience. “This is about giving our athletes the opportunity to develop and become the best they can be,” said Murray H. Goodman Dean of Athletics Joseph Sterrett ’76 ’78G ’03P ’05P ’07P ’09P. President Joseph J. Helble ’82 thanked the donors for their generosity. “They understand that by elevating our facilities and our capabilities, we can do an even better andmore distinctive job in developing our student-athletes,” he said. In making the gift, one of the parent donors said, “I’m inspired by the athletics here and inspired by what Lehigh does to produce leaders that will ultimately have an impact on our country going forward.” He said the lessons learned are valuable. “In every contest, half the people playing are always going to lose. In a league or a tournament, 90%of the people are not going to get what they want. And when you don’t, it can be painful. Athletics done right is a foundation that catapults you into being better at embracing those moments. It teaches you something about confdence, about your ability to emotionally understand the anguish of not always coming out on top, and that prepares you for life, because life is a journey.” Other gifts have been made to the projects, and the anonymous gift has begun to inspire others to consider their support. Athletics is seeking a total of $30million in philanthropic gifts fromalumni and friends to bring the vision to fruition. R E N D E R I N G C O U R T E S Y O F A L L O Y 5 GIVING DAY BY THE NUMBERS The Lehigh community came together on April 27, 2022, to raise money in support of students’ education and experience. 58% Percentage of unique alumni donors 2,565 Total gifts $696K Amount raised 47 states and 9 countries represented Liked by lehighlts, lehighuand 320 others Among the Giving Day Challenges was one that unlocked fnals week pizza for students, courtesy of Library & Technology Services. To learn more about GO: The Campaign for Lehigh, visit gocampaign.lehigh.edu. S UMM E R 2 0 2 2 | 9
1 0 | L E H I G H B U L L E T I N C A M P U S DIVERSITY TOWN HALL Lehigh hosted the first of a series of town halls in April on its Diversity, Inclusion and Equity Strategic Plan and Progress Measures. Donald Outing, vice president for equity and community, told attendees that Lehigh aimed to create an environment “where all members of our community felt welcomed, valued and could experience a sense of belonging here.” Outing stressed that progress measures, which will help the university hold itself accountable, are just a “starting point,” as it will add and amend the measures as needed. RACHEL LEVINE VISIT U.S. Assistant Secretary for Health Rachel Levine met with College of Health students in April for a presentation on the challenges and opportunities in public health. Grappling with the greatest public health crisis in more than a century, Levine addressed the pandemic’s toll, as well as gender and identity insecurity, public health initiatives and misinformation, soaring suicide rates and substance abuse, and the inequities exposed by the coronavirus pandemic. Red dresses hung from trees along Lehigh’s Fairchild-Martindale Library concourse in early May to raise awareness about missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Sarah Mixsell ’24, Sarah Manthorp ’24, Jennifer Cocchiere ’24 and Natalia Montero ’22 worked with Lehigh’s Center for Gender Equity and the Institute for Indigenous Studies in a nod to artist/activist Jaime Black’s REDress Project, a public art installation created in response to the international issue. REDDRESSES, FORACAUSE C H R I S T A N E U C H R I S T A N E U C H R I S T A N E U
C H R I S T A N E U Developing Next-Generation Metallic Alloys Lehigh enters $25M cooperative agreement with the U.S. Army Research Lab In partnership with The Ohio State University, Lehigh has entered into a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Army Research Lab (ARL) to develop novel structural materials for high-strength applications. The agreement provides up to $25million over fve years. The team’s proposal, “LightweightHighEntropyMetallic AlloyDiscovery (LHEAD),” includes three basic science projects that seek to address the critical need for longer-lasting and more resilient alternative structural materials for use in advanced material systems such as hypersonic missiles. The frst two projects aim to develop new generations of superalloys—high-strength materials that can function at extreme temperatures—and leverage advancements in solid-state materials processing to develop high-entropy metallic alloys for improved performance. The team will also explore powder-based material processing, phase transformation pathways, atomic-resolution characterization, in-situ high-throughput mechanical testing and additive manufacturing. The third project, rooted in Lehigh’s Nano/Human Interfaces (NHI) Presidential Engineering them ideal for use in hyper- “IN ORDER TO MANUFACTURE sonic applications. However, existing superalloys HYPERSONICS THAT ARE BETTER AND have limitations that can MORE EFFICIENT AT HIGH TEMPERA- inhibit the performance of the equipment in which TURES, WE NEED NEW MATERIALS.” they’re used. “[Superalloys] are kind —RESEARCH SCIENTIST CHRIS MARVEL ’12 ’16 PH.D. Research Initiative, will support the frst two by providing participating researchers with unique resources to improve communication, problem-solving and collaborative use of research instrumentation. “We are thrilled to be partnering with ARL on this important work,” said Martin Harmer, the Alcoa Foundation Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, director of the NHI Initiative and principal investigator of the LHEAD project. “This cooperative agreement has been cultivated through an enduring and immensely valuable relationship between Lehigh and ARL that has grown stronger and more successful over time. The LHEAD project has the potential to lead to tremendous advancements in both materials development and in how scientists conduct research together.” R E S E A R C H Caro Riedel and Mari-Therese Burton demonstrate the use of Microsoft HoloLens 2 mixed-reality headsets in Lehigh’s NHI Lab. The frst installment of $3 million has been authorized by Congress. The agreement is the latest of many Lehigh collaborations with the Army Research Lab, which have resulted in signifcant discoveries, papers in high-profle publications and the placement of Lehigh students in prestigious fellowships. The LHEAD project was inspired in part by an earlier project led by Harmer, “Anti-Thermal Behavior of Materials: Reversing the Trends of Nature,” a collaboration between Lehigh and Carnegie Mellon University funded by a $1 million grant from the W.M. Keck Foundation. Through the LHEAD project, the researchers plan to design and produce two types of next-generation alloys to be used at temperatures greater than 1,100 degrees Celsius: BCC/B2 refractory high-entropy alloys that exhibit an optimum combination of high strength, ductility and creep resistance at high temperatures; and complex Rh-free Nibasedalloys containingnanoclusters that mitigate creep at high temperatures. Superalloys are incredibly strong, can withstand high temperatures, and are resistant to creep (deformation due to mechanical stresses) and corrosion, which makes of capped out at the temperature at which they can operate,” said research scientist Chris Marvel ’12 ’16 Ph.D., associate director of the NHI and co-principal investigator of the LHEAD project. “In order to manufacture hypersonics that arebetter andmoreefcient athightemperatures, we need newmaterials. Every aspect of the LHEAD project is trying to fnd alternative materials to get the overall performance to be a lot better.” —Kelly Hochbein S UMM E R 2 0 2 2 | 1 1
R E S E A R C H D O U G L A S B E N E D I C T / A C A D E M I C I M A G E Developing Bio-Inspired Underwater Vehicles An interdisciplinary team of researchers led by Keith Moored, associate professor of mechanical engineering and mechanics at Lehigh, has been awarded $7.5million from the U.S. Department of Defense to help develop fast and efcient schools of bio-inspired underwater vehicles. As part of the prestigious, fve-year Multidisciplinary University Research Initiatives (MURI) award,Moored and colleagues fromtheUniversity of Virginia and Harvard and Princeton universities aim to discover and demonstrate the hydrodynamic principles behind high-speed, high-efciency fsh and biorobotic schooling. “It’s important, particularly from the Navy’s perspective, in order to build the next generation of underwater vehicles,” Moored said. “If you look at how the military operates in the air, we have drones that can do all sorts of things … but we don’t have that same kind of equivalent underwater. The Navy has been trying to invest in underwater drone technology that can serve a lot of purposes— where you can keep people out of harm’s way and do things like surveillance and reconnaissance, but also underwater mine detection and removal.” Moored said a deeper understanding of fuid dynamic interactions will enable bio-inspired robots to perform these tasks more efectively and with less energy as a group, just like fsh in a school. “We know that there are some benefts by having fsh swim together, from a performance standpoint,” he said. “They can actually swim faster when they swim together. They can actually swimmore efciently as a group than they can individually. What we’re looking at is, really, understanding this better … so that ultimately we can design a school of bio-inspired robots to swim together in a benefcial way. “And when [the bots] are deployed for a mission,” he said, “they can go do distributed tasks, so that it’s not just one bot going to do something, but they can spread out and go map an area, do reconnaissance or surveillance on other underwater vehicles, sweep for mines, or other missions along those lines.” In addition to Moored, principal investigators on the project are Daniel Quinn, Haibo Dong and Hilary Bart-Smith, all from the University of Virginia; George Lauder of Harvard University; and Radhika Nagpal of Princeton University. —Mary Ellen Alu The project team is currently working with two types of robotic devices: tuna bots, about 8 inches long, and blue bots, about 5 inches long. INTERDISCIPLINARY COLLABORATION Lehigh Materials Science and Engineering Ph.D. student Evan John Musterman was awarded a prestigious grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to conduct research at Brookhaven National Laboratory. The award through DOE’s Office of Science Graduate Student Research program enables Musterman to spend nine months at the lab in Upton, NewYork, advancing his research, which is at the forefront of laser-fabricated single crystal architectures in glass. Musterman works with advisors Himanshu Jain in materials science and engineering and Volkmar Dierolf in the physics department, making his work an interdisciplinary collaboration. “I’m thrilled to be in residence at Brookhaven to advance a key area of fundamental importance to crystallization, which is to better understand the structural transformation of the glass phase preceding crystal formation,” Musterman said. Through world-class training and access to state-of-theart facilities at DOE national laboratories, the program prepares graduate students to enter jobs that are critically important to the DOE mission and secures the U.S. position at the forefront of innovation. Musterman said he will work on a newmethod of studying how glass transforms just before crystallization. His work at the lab started in June. 1 2 | L E H I G H B U L L E T I N
R E S E A R C H SCHEMATIC Saving Chimney Swi fts B R A T I S L AV M I L E N K O V I C 1 2 3 4 Lehigh students Natalie Mojica ’23, an English and political science major, and Fabian Chavez Hernandez ’23, an earth and environmental science major, have conducted research into the migratory pattern of Chimney Swifts in an efort to protect their habitat. The ofcial Bethlehem city bird, Chimney Swifts have been under duress by urban development, with their North American population declining by 72 percent since 1966. As part of their research, Mojica and Hernandez created a map showing where the birds are currently migrating and nesting. They also drafted potential city ordinances to encourage the building of free-standing chimney towers designed for nesting and roosting birds. The towers would satisfy the birds’ natural nesting habits and can keep them out of household chimneys, they said. The research was supported by a STEPS Environmental Fellowship. 1 AERIAL ACROBATS Chimney Swifts are small, smudgegray birds—about 5 inches in length— with a chattering call and slender bodies, short tails, and long, narrow, curved wings. They have been designated as near threatened since 2010. 2 NATURAL PEST-CONTROL Swifts eat airborne insects: fies, bugs, bees, wasps, feas and other insects. Swifts can consume 5,000 to 6,000 insects per day. 3 MIGRATORY PATTERN Commonly found in the eastern United States, Swifts pass the winter in the upper Amazon basin and make their way north in late spring. They have made Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, home. 4 NESTING Chimney Swifts originally nested in natural spaces such as caves and hollow trees and now nest primarily in chimneys and other vertical sites with dim light. Data collected over a month’s time confrmed nesting sites on the city’s north and south sides. The students mapped several potential locations for human-built nesting and migration towers. S UMM E R 2 0 2 2 | 1 3
C U L T U R E An Archive Brought to Life An interdisciplinary, multi-institutional collaboration celebrates writer Gloria Naylor From left, Professors Mary Foltz and Suzanne Edwards examine archival documents with Sam Sorensen, a research assistant on the project. Gloria Naylor Gloria Naylor, the renowned late-20th-century writer whose extensive work chronicles the experiences of Black women in America, maintained a collection of her published and unpublished writing, as well as correspondence with both contemporary writers and fans. In 2009, Naylor donated all these documents to Sacred Heart University, drawing Naylor scholars to the university’s Fairfield, Conn., campus. Today, thanks to an innovative multi-year institutional collaboration between Sacred Heart and Lehigh, researchers, teachers, students and fans the world over can engage with Naylor’s life and works. Suzanne Edwards, associate professor of English, and Mary Foltz, associate professor of English, worked with Sacred Heart’s Michelle Loris, professor and associate dean in the College of Arts and Sciences, and Gavin Ferriby, university librarian, to temporarily relocate the 50-plus boxes of materials in the Gloria Naylor Archive to Lehigh for processing in 2019. Over the following two years, an interdisciplinary team of faculty, staff and graduate researchers processed and digitized the materials to make them accessible to all in a variety of ways. In addition to courses, workshops and several journal publications, team members produced several public-facing resources: a finding aid for Naylor scholars, a blog, and a website with abundant information for those interested in or teaching about Naylor and her works. The team also ensured that engagement with the archive would not be limited to an exploration of documents. An April 2021 virtual event with Black Women Radicals, a public-facing platform that profiles the lives and work of Black women radicals, featured a panel discussion about the archive. Partnering with Mark Wonsidler, curator of exhibitions and collections for the Lehigh University Art Galleries (LUAG), the team curated “Gloria Naylor: Other Places,” a physical and digital exhibition that ran from Sept. 1, 2021, through May 27, 2022. TheGloriaNaylor in theArchives Symposium, held virtually and on Lehigh’s campus in November 2021, was a low-cost and accessible event that welcomed Naylor scholars from across the United States. The three-day event featured presentations, panel and roundtable discussions, and a keynote lecture by Maxine Lavon Montgomery of Florida State University. The program also included theatrical readings of Naylor’s “Candy” and “M’Dear”, performed by Lehigh students; produced by Melpomene Katakalos, associate professor of theatre; and directed by Kashi Johnson, chair and professor of theatre. This work was funded by a $100,000 Accelerator Grant from Lehigh. A $100,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities supports the creation of an edited volume based on Naylor’s archives, edited by Edwards, Foltz and Maxine Lavon Montgomery, as well as the research for a second volume. The Gloria Naylor Archive will remain physically at Lehigh until it returns to Sacred Heart in 2023, and the digital archive can be found at go.lehigh.edu/naylorarchive. —Kelly Hochbein C H R I S T A N E U / S T E P H A N I E V E T O / G E T T Y I M A G E S 1 4 | L E H I G H B U L L E T I N
A T H L E T I C S Former Lehigh women’s basketball head coach Sue Troyan, left, with her successor, Addie Micir. Shifting Gears Addie Micir has been promoted to head coach of the women’s basketball program, as longtime coachSueTroyan transitions to a senior leadership rolewithin the athletic department. Micir had been the program’s associate head coach. The transitionmarks the frst time in 32 years that Troyan is not a head coach at Lehigh. “There are times in your life when you know you are ready for change, and when you know the program is ready for change,” Troyan said. “This is one of those moments. It’s the right time for me, given an opportunity to make a broader impact at Lehigh, and it’s the “THERE ARE TIMES IN YOUR right time for the program knowing that we have the right person within LIFE WHEN YOU KNOW YOU ARE our program to step in and continue to move it forward. Addie is the right READY FOR CHANGE, AND WHEN person at the right time.” Micir, who became the eighth head YOU KNOW THE PROGRAM IS coach in program history, has spent READY FOR CHANGE.” the last three seasons as associate head coach at Lehigh. Prior to joining —SUE TROYAN the Mountain Hawks, Micir spent one year as an assistant coach at Princeton, her alma mater. That year, the Tigers were the Ivy League’s regular season and tournament champions. Before returning to Princeton, she was an assistant coach at Dartmouth, where she earned her master’s degree in liberal studies, for fve years. As a player at Princeton,Micirwas a 1,000-point scorer, was named the program’s frst unanimous Ivy League Player of the Year and helped the school win back-toback Ivy League titles in 2010 and 2011. Troyan fnishes her basketball coaching career with an overall record of 430-361. She led the program to four Patriot League championships, oneWNIT Tournament and four NCAA Tournament appearances, the most recent in 2021. Troyan guided the team to six Patriot League Championship games and a winning season in each of her fnal four years at the helm. Under Troyan, the program saw 45 student-athletes named All-Patriot League, seven Patriot League major award winners and four recognized as Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Before heading the women’s basketball program, Troyan spent fve seasons as head softball coach at Lehigh, compiling a record of 126-90-1 with three league titles. In addition to her two head coaching positions, Troyan served for fve years as an assistant basketball coach and two years as the director of athletic programbudgets. NEW KICKS Lauren Calabrese ’07, a former four-year starter for Lehigh women’s soccer, has been tapped to lead the program as its new head coach. Calabrese, below right, succeeds Eric Lambinus, the program’s all-time winningest coach with 78 wins. Lambinus, who led Lehigh women’s soccer to its only Patriot League Championship and NCAA Tournament berth in 2010, had been at the helm for the past 12 years. He is transitioning into a new role at the university. Calabrese spent the previous six seasons as an assistant coach under Lambinus, below left. During that time, the programmade four Patriot League tournament appearances, including three straight from 2016-18, which tied a program record set from 2004-06, while Calabrese was a player. Prior to her time as an assistant coach, Calabrese served as a volunteer assistant during Lehigh’s 2010 Patriot League Championship season. As a player at Lehigh, she was a second team All-Patriot League honoree in 2003 and is currently fifth in school history with 13 career assists. She was also a four-year member of the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll. Calabrese has added Taylor Campbell-Phipps, a former NCAA National Champion at Penn State in 2015 and multi-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree, as an assistant coach. S UMM E R 2 0 2 2 | 1 5
’ ’ - ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ - ’ - ’ - — — ’ The int A T H L E T I C S PROFILE Maddie Kahn ’23 Named Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Year as a sophomore, Maddie Kahn fnished second in the nation in both save percentage (87.9) and saves per game (7.25) while her 1.01 goals against average was 11th best. She followed that up by helping Lehigh feld hockey record its frst winning season in nearly 30 years as a junior. Kahn has been named to three U.S. national teams U17, U19 and U21 and played in South Africa at the International Hockey Federation (FIH) Women s Junior World Cup in South Africa this past spring. MAJOR: Management WHAT’S YOUR DREAM JOB? I would really like to work in a pro sports organization. Sports have played such a big role in my life, and I just really enjoy them. So, in a business management-type role or something like that. I’m not really sure what I want specifcally, but I would really enjoy working in a sports organization, whether it s MLB, the NFL, the NHL, their affliate teams, whatever. Just being in that type of environment would be enjoyable for me. WHAT’S YOUR PROUDEST ATHLETIC ACHIEVEMENT? Being selected into the USA feld hockey pipeline. Every time I get named to one of the USA teams, it s a big accomplish ment for me. I kind of group them all together. Getting into the pipeline and staying in it is, I think, pretty cool and not something that many people get to say that they’re doing, especially not many Patriot League players. IS IT JUST AS SPECIAL EACH TIME YOU’RE ON A U.S. NATIONAL TEAM? Yeah, I would say so. The coaching staff changes when you go through the different teams, and they look for different styles and different things. So it s defnitely just as special getting named each time. It s not expected for me. I don’t go to these things and expect to be named all the time just because I was able to accomplish that previously. It s defnitely just as special each time getting the press release and seeing my name on there. YOU WERE ON SPORTSCENTER’S TOP 10 PLAYS TWICE IN SIX MONTHS. DID YOU EVER THINK YOU’D MAKE IT ONCE? (Laughs) No, I think that s a bucket list item for so many people. It s funny because I didn’t even know I was on it either time. I woke up at a normal time to my alarm to go to class, and I had texts on my phone, ‘We saw you on SportsCenter! It was so cool!’ But it s something that I never thought was going to happen. Not many people know what feld hockey is. It s kind of in the shadows when you’re looking at the sports community as a whole. So it s really interesting to be put on that. It s defnitely really cool. And both times Justin [Lafeur, senior assistant director, Lehigh sports communications] did a great job putting in for it. So a lot of credit to him for even getting me on there. YOU JUST GOT BACK FROM SOUTH AFRICA. HOW WAS THAT EXPERIENCE? It was awesome. It was my frst opportunity to play internationally. I went to Germany with the U19s, and before our frst game, I ended up tearing my meniscus. In South Africa, they put me in the frst game versus Netherlands [the eventual champions] for the second half. … The U.S. team is great. I’ve known a lot of the girls for a while now, and just getting to spend that much time with them in such a dif ferent environment is a really cool experience for sure. … And just getting to say that I’ve been to South Africa, that I’ve been to Africa, is crazy. And getting to interact with other teams at the tournament is really cool as well. LEHIGH FIELD HOCKEY HAD ITS FIRST WINNING SEASON IN ALMOST 30 YEARS. HOW DID IT FEEL BEING THE GOALKEEPER FOR THAT TEAM? It s defnitely an exciting feeling to get some buzz around our program and have other people start to notice and kind of take Lehigh more seriously as a feld hock ey school. Each win that we got, we really had to fght for. There wasn’t a single game that we went into thinking we were automatically going to win that game. … Putting that all together and totaling the 11 wins that we had is defnitely a great thing to look at. If you look at the past three years that I’ve been here, it shows that there s been a lot of progress in such a short amount of time. erview continues online at The interview continues at go . kahn .lehigh.edu/ka . go.lehigh edu/ C H R I S T A N E U 1 6 | L E H I G H B U L L E T I N 1 6 | L E H I G H B U L L E T I N
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